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Being Thankful

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by Geneva Mooney

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17, NIV)

Thankfulness begins in our heart. What our mind, mouth and actions speak our heart says first: A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45). When life goes well it can be easy to respond out of thankfulness and in agreement with others, but what happens when life does not go well? When there are challenging circumstances or disagreements that rise up within us, how do you respond? Do you respond with a thankful heart full of grace and love; a heart full of unforgiveness, judgment and condemnation; or a heart full of anxiety and fear? When faced with a wound or hurt do you easily forgive, or do you hold onto that hurt like a child’s security blanket that has been weathered to the point of disrepair? It is not what happens to us that matters, it is how we respond in our hearts, because our words and actions are an expression of our heart. The heart is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23), and the Lord sees the heart.

The Lord is clear in His word on how we are to respond: Love! Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). But what if it is hard to love others when we are faced with those challenges and conflicts? First, we have a mighty Father who wants to do this in us. He wants to be a part of our brokenness, for us to be willing to look deep into our hearts with Him for the unforgiveness and judgments we may have in our hearts from childhood to today. Why?

Because if we do not forgive, we are not forgiven. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15). Forgiveness is not excusing the offense, forgetting, denying the hurt or anger, or trusting the offender. Forgiveness is remitting the punishment or canceling the debt – a work of God’s grace in our lives.

We should also bring past and present judgments to an end, because we are judged in the same way if we don’t. Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:1-2). Have you ever wondered why you might be just like your mother or father, in a negative way? Could it be judgment? Just in case you were not sure what judgment is, it’s a sinful reaction to hurt – condemning those who hurt us about what they have done and about who they are.

The good news? We have a big God who wants to partner with us and heal us from the inside out. He wants to heal our hearts so our mourning can turn into joy (Jeremiah 31:13), so we can embrace the life He has given us and be thankful for our lives even in the midst of pain. Our Father cannot violate free will, but He is there weeping with you, angry for you. His heart breaks over you. What was intended for evil He wants to use for good, but we must be willing to go into the deep places of our hearts, invite Him in and address those wounds.

We are all sinners in desperate need of a Savior who died on the Cross and was resurrected after three days for all humanity. Let’s take our unforgiveness, judgments and hurts to the Cross, reckoning them dead so that we can have new life. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Hebrews 12: 4). All suffering is meaningful when it is met with love and the resisting of sin.

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I Will Praise You, Lord

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by Brian Waple

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:1–2, NLT)

I have to admit, it’s kind of hard to find comfort in those words in recent days. We have a pandemic that just seems to be getting worse; the 2020 presidential election has left the country more divided than ever; for Elim, our pastor search doesn’t seem to be panning out as we had hoped; the governor’s latest announcement seems to be affecting churches in a way that is constricting how we worship; and flu season is upon us. There are many reasons to be discouraged.

Yet it is during these hard days that God calls us to cling to Him. In the Book of Psalms, we read how David, a man after God’s own heart, went through discouraging (and downright terrifying) times. He spoke to God often about his fears, his disillusions, his failings, God’s failings (as David saw it)—often as a result of things he had no control over. But David also acknowledges God’s grace and mercy and sovereignty in all things.

Psalm 10 begins as many of David’s psalms begin: from a place of anguish. “O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? (Psalm 10:1).” But David knows in his heart and soul that God is greater than his troubles, as we read in Psalm 11: “But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth (Psalm 11:4).”

I believe in my own heart and soul that God is greater than all that is happening right now. I believe that none of this has caught Him by surprise, and I believe that God is working through it all, although I may not see it. Still, I find myself experiencing periods of anguish and asking God, “Lord, when is this going to end?”

David finds his solace in praising his God. When he turns his attention to praise, he doesn’t dwell on what’s happening. It’s still happening, but his attention is focused on the One who is greater than all his troubles. It’s hard for me to want to praise when things are falling apart, but isn’t that what I am called to do? Throughout the Scriptures, God tells His people to “trust in Me.” I know that sounds too simple and naive, especially in these very, very complex times when we are desperately searching for answers. But as we read in Psalm 18, “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection (Psalm 18: 30).” Now, isn’t that worthy of our praise?

So, in many ways we can’t control what’s going on around us, whether it be this pandemic, or the election, or the pastor seach, or anything else. But, like David, we are called to trust and praise the One who can end this sickness . . . who can unite this country . . . who can bring a pastor to this church . . . and who will one day reign supreme!

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. (Psalm 145:1–3)

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And the Winner Is . . .

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Jeff Foerster

Odds favor that on January 20, 2021, the United States of America will inaugurate Joe Biden as our 46th president. Presidential Election Day falls on the first Tuesday of November every four years and, approximately 10 weeks later, the first day of the presidential term begins. Our republic has an organized system of governance and election protocols. While I won’t dig deeply into detail, here are a few key dates to be aware of:

  • November 3: Election Day
  • December 14: Electoral college voting
  • January 6: Congressional counting of electoral college ballots
  • January 20: Presidential Inauguration Day

Currently, we have a contested election. This means for most of us in the general public, a period of waiting. Waiting for legal issues to be resolved, waiting for state ballot counts to be certified, waiting for the electoral college to meet, waiting for those ballots to be tabulated in Congress, waiting for Inauguration Day.

At Elim, we know waiting, and we know there can be some discomfort in the process. We await God’s revealing of a permanent lead pastor. In this time of not knowing, we do well to rest in the trust of God’s continuing provision and, therefore, His preparation of the man who will serve Jesus, in our midst, into the future.

In this world, there will be legal battles. There will be wars of words. There will be tumult and tempests. This is certainly true when it comes to our political environment. And to put it lightly, God has some knowledge and experience in this area.

Jesus, facing the greatest “political” battle of his life, stood before Pilate, Governor of Judaea. He spoke these words:

My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm. (John 18:36, my emphasis)

Did you catch that? Jesus’s fight is not a political one and neither is that of His followers. The kingdom of Jesus, of which every born-again Christian is a part, neither rises nor falls with the fortunes of any political party. Though there are significant differences between party platforms and candidates, the will of God is sovereign over all, and we can have peace in the midst of the storm because our King is the King of Peace.

We don’t fight like men fight, with destruction and division, but we are to wage war. We war in ways which sinful man cannot understand, nor can he comprehend. Our weapons are truth and faith and prayer and submission and trust—not to human outcomes, but to our God and Creator who rules over all, and that, forevermore. And the result? Peace. A peace that none can take away.

So I urge you to draw near, in this time of waiting, not to television sets or iPhones for the latest political update, but draw near to God, and love one another as He has loved you.

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Dust, Ashes, and Joy

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By Jason Comerford

Have you ever noticed any patterns to when you experience joy? Does it come after a Sunday-morning service? Or after singing a timely worship song? Maybe it’s after an evening with your community group studying the Bible, or perhaps in praying with a close friend.

Well, after being a Christian for 13 years, I’ve really started to notice one peculiar pattern for when I experience joy: it’s when I discover clearly that I’m wrong about something. Usually, something significant.

The first time I can remember this happening to me was when I got saved. I was reading a book about how God as Father deals with His sons. The picture was of such a loving, good, kind, and faithful parent that, in a moment, it struck me how my view of God had been horribly twisted my entire life. The cruel, overbearing bully in my head gave way to an incredibly patient, good, tender, and loving friend. I literally got to my knees and wept in apology to my Heavenly Father, confessing how wrongly I had been thinking of Him.

And that’s what really struck me: my wrongness about what God is like. And I felt awful about it—all the ways I had resented God, hated Him, delayed in obeying Him. He deserved none of that! In prayer, I apologized and apologized again and again.

I felt so awful.

And yet, I also felt really happy.

Sure, I had discovered how terribly I had lived and behaved. But the sorrow of such behavior only struck me because I discovered how GOOD God is. Guilt and shame had never produced any kind of faith or obedience in me. But discovering how good God is? That did it. Let me tell you, discovering for the first time how wonderful God is? That’s a very happy moment.

But don’t miss this. My first real taste of joy came through a tiny death. A lifetime of religious learning and the accompanying ego were struck down to bring me this newfound happiness.

 In our culture, we feel ashamed to admit we’re wrong. We spend hours on social media trying to prove to others that we are the right ones. We will fight and argue for the right to be right.

But when we recognize we’re wrong about God, He doesn’t shame us. He shows us He is so great that we can’t fully know Him. And He’s so good, even when we thought otherwise, so much better than we can fully understand.

Job spent most of his book defending his righteousness, and he technically was righteous. He never cursed God, even when his children, wealth, and health were torn from him. But even in the midst of his uprightness, the Lord enters into the conversation and shows him that he does not even begin to understand his God. God speaks to him for several chapters, revealing how little Job actually knows. And Job’s response?

I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
“Hear, and I will speak;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.”
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
    and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:1–6)

And God responds by blessing him. He defends Job against his unloving friends. He restores Job’s wealth and family even beyond what he’d originally enjoyed. (Job 42:7–17)

I’m not saying that when you realize you’re wrong, God will give you material riches. But I am saying that God means good for us when He shows us we’re wrong about Him. He means to bring us joy, not shame.

 But we have to recognize we’re wrong before we can find joy in knowing God better.

I challenge you to ask God to expose the ways that you’re wrong about Him. Ask Him how you’ve misrepresented Him and how you’ve misunderstood Him. Be willing to be wrong, that you might find joy in believing what is right.

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